Kishida Visits Western Japan Town for Child Policy Hints

Nagi, Okayama Pref., Feb. 19 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Nagi, Okayama Prefecture, western Japan, Sunday to see firsthand child-rearing support measures being implemented in the town, whose total fertility rate is among the highest in the country.

He also held talks with local people raising children. The prime minister plans to reflect what he learned in Nagi in the government's draft measures for shoring up the country's low birthrate, to be drawn up in late March.

The total fertility rate is the average number of children a woman is expected to deliver in her lifetime.

Kishida visited Nagi Child Home, a temporary care facility mainly for preschoolers, which also allows children and adults of various ages to have interactions. At the facility, Kishida received explanations from Okayama Governor Ryuta Ibaragi and Nagi Mayor Masachika Oku.

The prime minister also inspected a "shigoto konbini" program, which offers jobs that can be done while raising children.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]